Not tomorrow and for what I could afford within 5 years without an economic collapse in the USA well I`d probably be better off paying for guided hunts when i could afford it. I never thought it would get to this, this fast! i figured I`d hunt with friends or public land when I could. I even considered trying to lease this year but the horror stories i hear makes me want the landowner to sign ten pages of stipulations to CMA. So what a guy needs even in a small tract is Timber, elevation changes, water, whats a going rate for a scratch built pond if a guy finds some cheaper land that has none or should he not even look at that piece? any of you that have tillable acres on your land wish it was river bottom instead? what`s the biggest unexpected benefit you found in owning land?

What really gets me going on this is, it`s mine, I do`nt have to worry about anything when i want to go out to it. (except leaving the key for the gate at home) yeah the trespassers/meth makers are still a problem but not as much as it used to be here in Iowa.I really may just be dreaming out loud but that`s where it starts. if you had to do it all over again would you? what would you change? or what would you study more before doing it?

Hey luvhuntin... good questions! I have been wanting my own land too but wifey keeps reminding me I have to pay for my two kids college... one of which starts next fall . Owning my own small parcel of hunt-able land has been a dream for me the past few years. I've been watching real estate prices and land seems to be the one thing that has stayed level or actually appreciated in value the past couple years. I never play the lottery except the other day in the office pool but my first act of economic stimulation had I won would have been to buy the 80 acres of land from the owner of the property where I hunt now and then also buy a quad and some farming equipment. Shows you where my priorities are! It's fun to dream a little! He told me he is just waiting for the right offer which I think is north of $775k based on my conversation with his daughter. His land has everything you mentioned, timber, elevation changes, creek bottom, even tillable land. It really is a hunters honey hole minus the pond! Don't even need the pond since the creek runs through it. My son and I would have a blast! There is even a spot on the property I call "the bowl" that would make a great place for a small shooting range.

IMO, I'd only buy land or anything else speculative right now if I could afford to take a bath on it down the road. Hopefully that won't happen, but with the state of the country right now who knows what's coming next?

The "bargin" price you think you are paying now for ground might very well be reduced by a third or half in the coming years.

We're in a whole new ball game now. New players, and worse yet, new rules.

I worked at it from 1985 to 2001. I spent every winter weekend I could, out driving around looking, but I finally found heaven. My advice is that now is the best time in a decade to be out looking for property. There are several nice parcels within 10 minutes of me. Some have been on the market for several years. When I started, I was thinking a 20 acre patch would be all I needed. I ended up with 200 acres, a house and barns. The more acres the better, I found out.

Ponds are not a big thing I found out, unless you're in a very dry area or want to fish. You can get a bulldozer in and dig a small Y pond in few hours if you want one. I have several stock ponds (under 50 feet wide) , and none of them really produce deer or turkey.

Bottom land is great, but I own mostly ridge top. They're cheaper for a hunter, and the deer come up on tops and sides of the ridges in the fall to feed on acorns. Turkeys spend a lot of time on the ridges in the spring. There is not as much tillable acreage, but that made the price cheaper.

Biggest unexpected benefits?1) My whole life changed. I was a boring suburbanite with a Buick Regal and a sport coat. Now I'm driving a Silverado 4X4, wearing quilted plaid shirts and I have dogs hanging out the window as I go down the road.2) I never have to go to a public shooting range again. In fact, I can sit at my shooting bench on my front porch and eat my dinner. I find this to be the ultimate luxury. I am re-surfacing my front lawn in brass, one 22 at a time.3) The challenge of hunting for me has shifted to what I can achieve of MY property with MY deer and MY turkeys. I find that much more satisfying than following a guide around shooting HIS deer and HIS turkeys.4) I don't have to worry about losing access to my hunting property ever again.5) Over time, you start to see bigger patterns in things-- stuff that crosses generations of deer and turkeys. I'm now hunting the 5-6th generation of turkeys and probably the same for the deer. You find you're starting to see the same individual behaviors over and over, especially with turkeys.

Six years ago I acquired a 150 acre farm in NE Ohio. 100 acres are corn and soybean, 40 is woods and the last 10 are where the house, 2 barns , garage and a 3 vehicle shed are. My woods connects to another 1,000 acres. I'm also situated 3 miles from a state refuge. We have deer, turkeys and waterfowl that come into the picked corn from the nearby refuge. Hunting your own property is absolutely great for all the reasons that were mentioned. All of that is great, but the thing that means the most to me is being able to share it all with my family and friends. This past November we had the Sixth Annual Fall Farm Festival with 45 in attendance. Most have never actually been on a farm until I started having the annual get together. They enjoy the quietness and peacefulness of the country setting. They love the farm as much as I do and the farm has had an impact on their lives.If you have the chance to buy farm land, do it. It could change your life.

Woods Walker wrote:IMO, I'd only buy land or anything else speculative right now if I could afford to take a bath on it down the road. Hopefully that won't happen, but with the state of the country right now who knows what's coming next?

The "bargin" price you think you are paying now for ground might very well be reduced by a third or half in the coming years.

We're in a whole new ball game now. New players, and worse yet, new rules.

Well you know by now I am just as worried about our sad state of affairs in this country as anyone and I do`nt see it getting better for years myself.

I`ll probably start really small 20 to 50 acres just to keep everything small scale and the stress low. my Idea is alot like Shaman`s I never have to worry about losing my permission to hunt it I can do as much or as little as i please to it or on it, if i only want to hunt it opening weekend and the last weekend of the season it`s there when i get time to hunt. something that small probably wo`nt have a shooting range and that stinks cause i`d love to have that perk

shaman wrote:Buick Regal and a sport coat. Now I'm driving a Silverado 4X4

and shaman next time your flying a drone over my house let me know first please. MY DRIVEWAY resembles that remark! at least I have the supercharged regal with a smaller pulley to get it spinning closer to 40,000 rpm too much bottom end torque otherwise. BUT I GET IT it`s time to start looking. One question that came to mind after a chat with a friend tonight was about family and friends, The guy that got me back into hunting has 200 ac and is absolutely miserable because of it. he is so afraid to do anything to the land or on it. every time i talk to his son and his brother in law they swear they will never hunt there anymore because by the time they get in the stand and a deer shows up they are so paranoid about shooting the wrong deer, they do`nt dare think of pulling the trigger. anybody ever seen that happen before?

I agree that owning your own ground is like nothing else. I bought my 5 acres 24 years ago and enjoy many of the things that have been posted.

But that said, our land was also supposed to be the bedrock of our retirement. I was raised by parents who grew up during the Great Depression and their mantra to me was always to never trust the stock market and to salt away what you could to BUY YOUR OWN LAND. Owning a home was THE goal and the way smart people invested their money. So we did. And right now our retirement has been devalued to the point where it's now worth what it was about TWENTY YEARS AGO!!!!! And it hasn't stopped yet. That's why I caution you as I did. DO NOT count on it ever being worth more that what you paid for it. It's great to own, live on, and improve, but other than that right now it's NOT a good investment. You may get it for what appears to be a good deal, but who the hell knows what it will be worth in 5 or 10 years? You may very well have to sell it to someone else for a 1/3 or 1/2 of what you paid for it. I pray for ALL of us that I'm wrong, but so far I see NO encouragement to change that point of view.

WW this may be a story i have already posted forgive me if i have i just love telling it.One of my prized possessions is a 5 shot 22 rifle my grandpa bought. it cost 16$ & took him 6 months of lay away payments before he could bring it home! I love to tell that story to anyone younger than 25 and watch their brain freeze trying to process that. Most of the time the question i get is why did`nt he just put it on a dredit card? LOL!

As much as the thought of owning my own hunting spot gets me all warm and fuzzy a guy still has to look at what that will cost him in time and money after the ink has dried on the papers. my biggest hangup right now is how far do i really want to drive to get to it. I also think i`d rather have as close to 100% of it in timber as i could you can always take some down, Putting it back up and benefiting from it in my lifetime well that window is getting short, (men in my family do`nt last much past 55). I thought i found a desireable chunk, 40 ac all timber! until i notice they wanted 3200 an acre sheesh! and mostly pasture land for a good ways around it.

I also need to make sure that if i drop a tree on my head from a newly purchased hunting ground the wife is`nt left with a mess. so the life insurance has to fit the bill. (never thought of that until she mentioned it the other night)

I think i`ll get there but gotta do it so i still have a pot and a window

Ifishandhunt wrote:Shaman,How far are some of those parcels from Cincinnati? What is the average price per acre?

I'm about an hour out of downtown Cincinnati in SW Bracken County, KY. The AA Highway gives you divided highway to within 10 miles of the farm. We have deer, turkey, elk , coyote, bobcat and the occasional bear on the place.

Price? $2K-2.5K per acre now. I picked mine up for about half that in 2001. There's an 18 acre place with a house just up the road from me, as well as 100-300 acre parcels that touch my place in various spots. There's a lot on the market right now.

If you are interested, look up Ken Perry Realty. Tell Ken you are looking for something around Rooster's, Neave, Milford or thereabouts. Another good spot seems to be Haley Ridge.

I'm on the Bracken/Pendleton line. We have a lot of deer and a lot of hunters. Pendleton is the hot spot for deer right now. If you want REALLY BIG deer look over on the Grant/Pendleton line. I've seen some pictures of some monsters coming out of there this year. Robertson County is also an up and comer.

One question that came to mind after a chat with a friend tonight was about family and friends, The guy that got me back into hunting has 200 ac and is absolutely miserable because of it. he is so afraid to do anything to the land or on it. every time i talk to his son and his brother in law they swear they will never hunt there anymore because by the time they get in the stand and a deer shows up they are so paranoid about shooting the wrong deer, they do`nt dare think of pulling the trigger. anybody ever seen that happen before?

Yep, I've seen it. At some point you have to tell yourself you're there to shoot them, not date them.